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Thursday, 23 November 2017

CANADA TO END UN PEACEKEEPING TROOP CONTRIBUTION TO MALI

CANADA TO END
UN PEACEKEEPING TROOP CONTRIBUTION TO MALI

Canada will
not be sending hundreds of peacekeepers to support a United Nations mission in
Mali in the near future, officials said on Wednesday, a move likely to
disappoint allies who want Canadians to play a role in the West African
country. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last year promised to contribute up to
600 troops to peacekeeping operations and Canadian defense experts made three
trips to Mali, where soldiers under the U.N. are fighting Islamist militants.

Canada said it
would split its soldiers among various missions instead, with no more than 200
going to any one spot, and will offer transport aircraft and helicopters in a
series of “smart pledge” initiatives. It will also help train peacekeepers. U.N.
officials downplayed concerns, saying that if Canada had pledged its troops and
equipment to a single mission, like Mali, then those assets could not be
deployed to support other missions in the region.

“This is
exactly what we need, we need flexibility we need to be able to allocate these
resources where we need them the most,” Jean-Pierre Lacroix, a U.N.
under-secretary general for peacekeeping operations, told reporters. Lacroix
said talks continue on how Canadian assets will be deployed, but added, “I‘m
sure there’s a strong determination to turn this commitment into a concrete
action on the ground.”

Earlier on
Wednesday, a Canadian official told reporters the option of sending forces to
Mali one day was still alive, but added the planning process took at least six
months, “So you’re not going to going to see some kind of rapid deployment to
any mission, let alone a complex one like Mali.”

Trudeau
sidestepped questions about the likely international reaction at a news
conference, saying the varied measures Canada was proposing would serve the U.N.
better. Unhappy allies this year said Canada’s bid for a U.N. Security Council
seat could suffer unless Trudeau lived up to his promises.

“This approach
will be a disappointment to some, and the Canadian government will have to work
hard to overcome the credibility it has lost in not following through on its
initial pledge,” said Jane Boulden, a security studies expert at Queen’s
University in Kingston. Government insiders said enthusiasm for the Mali
mission faded as the extent of likely casualties and the complex nature of the
conflict became clear. More than 80 members have been killed since 2013, making
Mali the world’s deadliest peacekeeping operation.